Chapter 7: Not For Sale

NOT FOR SALE

“The idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.”

Jerome K. Jerome: Three Men in a Boat

By
the end of 2002 the Club was in financial difficulties. It was living
beyond its means: for the last three years expenditure had exceeded
income. In February 2003 the Committee, expressing concern about “the
long-term viability” of the Club, appointed three members (Bob Brooking,
Bob Krstic and Jim Wright) as a committee to consider and report on the
future of the Club and especially its building. Some members had
suggested that the building be sold and one proposal had been that we
use the proceeds to buy smaller premises with a strata title in an old
two-storey building being redeveloped at the corner of Gore and Argyle
Streets, Fitzroy.

In
a long written report presented by Krstic the committee strongly
recommended retention of the existing club-rooms. It made numerous
other recommendations, some in colourful terms (“the club-rooms should
not be used as a doss-house”), aimed at improving standards of
behaviour. In May 2003 a general meeting in substance adopted the
report’s recommendations. At the same time the small but enthusiastic
Committee, aided by two or three dedicated members, had revived the
newsletter and renovated the club-rooms.